Touch time watch



3, 1939' Y J. L. BLANKS 2,168,314

TOUCH TIME WATCHES Filed May 24, 1938 (Tm Z.,Z?Zarzks,

INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Patented Aug. 8, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a touch time watch and has for .an object to provide a timepiece of this character which may be read without confusion by the blind or in the dark.

A further object is to provide a watch of this character in which the hour-hand and minutehand are formed integral with respective concentrically disposed discs which are countersunk in the dial so that a comparatively flat surface will be presented to enhance the distinctness of the hands so that by merely placing the ball of the thumb at the center of the dial the position of the watch hands may be easily and quickly determined.

A further object is to provide a watch of this character having the dial provided with a raised rim having scallops forming point shaped projections to provide more distinct hour indications than heretofore.

A further object is to provide a touch time watch which will be formed of a few strong simple and durable parts, which will be inexpensive to manufacture and which will not easily get out of order.

With the above and other objects in View the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the .appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a touch time wrist watch constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the wrist watch shown in Figure 1, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective View of the hour-hand disc showing the countersink for receiving the minute-hand disc.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective View of the minute-hand disc.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of .a touch time pocket watch constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, I ll designates a conventional watch provided with the usual time mechanism and to which, in carrying out the invention, a dial H is secured in the conventional manner.

The dial is provided with a raised annular rim [2 having scallops 13 forming point shaped projections to provide hour designations. The scallops may be provided with radially disposed ribs I 4 at the projections, as shown in Figure 1, or may be formed Without the ridges as shown in Figure 5, as desired. For small watches such as wrist watches it is preferable to provide the scallops with the ribs but for larger watches such as pocket Watches the ribs may be dispensed with if desired since the point shaped projections of the scallops afford easily distinguishable hour indicators which may be readily read by touch.

An hour-hand disc l5, best shown in Figure 3, is secured at its center to the hour-hand arbor N5 of the Watch and is provided with a raised pointer l1 forming an hour-hand. The disc is provided with a countersink I8 to receive the minute-hand disc and an annular bearing rib I9 is formed in the counter-sink concentric with the arbor.

The minute-hand disc 20, shown in Figure 4, is fixed axially to the minute-hand arbor 2| of the watch and received within the countersink l8 to present its outer face flush with the outer face of the hour-hand disc. The minute-hand disc 20 is supported upon the bearing rib l9 and rotates relatively to the hour-hand disc with minimum friction. A raised pointer 22 is formed on the minute-hand disc and constitutes a minute-hand.

In operation the hour-hand I! travels in a path of greater diameter than the path of the outer end of the minute-hand 22 so that the hour indicator is never obscured by the minute indicator so as to be exposed and readable by touch at all times.

A pair of projections 23 are formed on the scallop at the twelve oclock position on the dial and a finger projection 24 is formed on the scallop at the six oclock position on the dial. By merely establishing the location of the path of projections 23 the operator may orient the watch so that the hour and minute may be properly determined by touch reading.

Since Figure 5 is merely a pocket watch or an enlargement of the wrist watch shown in Figure 1, the same numerals have been applied to the parts of Figure 5, as in Figure 1.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

1. In a touch timepiece, the combination of a dial having a raised scalloped rim provided with 10 J'ections, ridges radially disposed on the projections, the ridges and the projections being indicative of hours discernible by touch, an hour disc on said dial, a minute disc on said hour-disc, the minute-disc being of less diameter than the hour-disc, an hour-hand on the hour-disc outside of the minute-disc, and a minute-hand on the minute-disc, said hands being raised and adapted to be read by touch.

JAMES L. BLANKS. 

